


Songs About the Moon

by Green



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greece & Rome, Gen, Gods, Virgin Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-17
Updated: 2012-06-17
Packaged: 2017-11-08 00:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/436902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green/pseuds/Green
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Your brother went to live with the priests,” Mama tells Gerard. Gerard is too young to question it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Songs About the Moon

1.

Gerard's earliest memories are of being hungry and scared. He remembers Mama's face being wet with tears, and the baby wailing for food – loud and husky at first, but then weak as time goes on.

Then things change. The wooden cradle next to their bed disappears. There is no more baby. No more chubby cheeks and bright eyes, no more fat fingers that clutch at Gerard's. 

“Your brother went to live with the priests,” Mama tells Gerard. Gerard is too young to question it.

Things seem better then. The food never runs out, and Gerard's belly is never empty.

2.

Gerard is six years old when he learns to pray in the ancient tongue. He likes the prayer to the moon goddess, Sha, the best. The moon is something that fascinates him. He learns to draw very early on and always makes sure to draw the moon in his art. The Silver Lady is the goddess who watches over their city, which makes her even more special.

Mama takes Gerard to the temple, telling him it's where the gods visit mortals. She seems frightened by the priests, but she tells Gerard it is because of things called 'respect' and 'awe'. The gods speak to the priests and the priests interpret their words for the people of the city.

It's all very difficult for a six year old to understand. 

3.

There is a room in the temple where people from the city come to pray. The ceiling is high and has many curved beams. There are wooden benches where people sit, and altars to the lesser gods all around the room. 

At eight years old, Gerard is considered _adulescens_ and takes up the responsibility of weekly prayers. He does just as his mother taught him early on, approaching the shrines around the room and offering flowers he bought from the outdoor sellers for this purpose.

The main shrine is waist high and the inner bowl of it is round and shiny so when you look into it, you can see yourself. That is where the main part of the prayer cycle is recited to the Silver Lady.

4.

The prayers are in an ancient language, but even though Gerard can't understand the words, he grasps their meaning easily. He prays for safety, for forgiveness, for thanksgiving, and for guidance. To Sha in particular, he thanks her for her light and her beauty.

Gerard never forgets to pray for the baby brother he barely remembers.

5.

The first time Mikey is allowed outside the temple into the city, he's eight and Gerard is eleven.

Children don't have bodyguards, but Mikey does. He has two of them, and they look alike. They are priests, but unlike the ones Gerard has seen. These are big and broad, and they do not smile. They are bald, though, and wear priestly robes, so Gerard's skepticism is appeased. 

6.

“Mikey's very important,” Mama tells Gerard.

“Of course he's important,” Gerard says. But sometimes he thinks he and Mama mean different things.

7.

Gerard approaches Mikey, waving shyly. “I'm Gerard. I'm your brother.”

Mikey blinks and squints at him. Gerard moves closer.

When Mikey smiles, Gerard's heart seems to grow from fist-sized to so large his chest can barely contain it.

8.

The next time Gerard goes to the temple, Mikey appears beside him on one of the long benches.

“Hi,” Gerard whispers. 

Mikey smiles and slides his hand into Gerard's. They listen to the high priest's sermon like that, hand in hand. After the sermon, when Gerard goes up to Sha's altar, Mikey follows. He's silent when Gerard recites the prayers. He says nothing when he looks into the shining silver bowl. 

Mikey looks very old sometimes.

9.

“Why do you live with the priests?” Gerard asks one week.

“My life belongs to Sha,” Mikey says. His face is blank. Gerard thinks that devoting your life to the Silver Lady is noble, and says so. Mikey doesn't answer him.

10.

It isn't until he's sixteen that Gerard has enough courage and audacity to sneak into the palace.

Mikey's room has a terrace, and Gerard climbs up and up on heavy vines to visit him.

It's worth the blisters to see Mikey's face light up at the sight of him.

11.

“Are you training to be a priest of Sha?” Gerard asks softly that summer. It is very hot, even at nearly midnight. They are lying head to head on Mikey's terrace, trying to catch a breeze from the sea.

“You really don't know,” Mikey murmurs. His eyes seem fixed on the moon.

“Know what?” 

But as much as Gerard asks, Mikey won't explain.

12.

When he's seventeen, Gerard gains a patron. Finally, he's allowed to do nothing but paint all day. 

And he does. He sells his first paintings in the square. But Gerard is careful with his gold, and saves and saves.

13.

He brings Mikey a painting he's made just for him. It depicts Sha embracing the moon, shining down on the ocean.

Mikey's reaction is strange. His face seems to close and he asks Gerard to leave. 

Gerard is hurt, but he doesn't stay to make things right again. He's done nothing wrong.

14.

The night before Mikey's sixteenth birthday, Gerard says, “Run away with me to Greece.”

“I can't,” Mikey says. “But you should go.”

“Why can't you? You don't have to stay here.” Then, in a whisper, “I don't even think you like the gods.”

Mikey's laugh is brittle. “You should go,” he repeats. “But … wait until after the feast day?”

Sha-en – Sha's day – is only two weeks away. It gives Gerard extra time to prepare, and more time to convince Mikey.

15.

The feasting has started, even though the actual holiday is not until dawn. Gerard is buzzing with excitement when he climbs the vines up to Mikey's terrace. He's leaving soon, and this is his last chance to convince Mikey to come with him.

Mikey looks different, somehow. His face is paler than usual, and there's no sparkle in his eyes. 

“Tell me about Greece,” he says.

Gerard takes this as a good sign. All he knows about Greece is what his patron and a few traders have told him, that they worship strange gods but value many of the same things there that their own city valued. He tells Mikey all he knows.

“Will you come with me?” Gerard asks when he's finished.

Mikey shakes his head wordlessly, then wraps his arms around Gerard's neck and holds on.

16.

The feasting starts early and lasts until after nightfall. Gerard is slightly drunk when he climbs up to Mikey's room. 

But Mikey's room is empty.

Gerard doesn't understand. Mikey is _always_ in his room at night. He searches around for a clue, anything...

And then he finds the letter.

17.

_...the Silver Lady requires a human sacrifice, a male virgin to be her groom. She visits him in her grotto, through the waves, and sweeps his soul away with her to the gods' realm. That's the story, anyway._

Mikey's writing is shaky and thin, but Gerard can hear him loud and clear, calling out for help.

18.

Gerard watches the grotto entrance for a few minutes before he runs in. There is evidence that the priests were here recently, but they've left, now. Gerard follows the cavern deeper and has to wade through water that's steadily rising. 

The water is up to his chest by the time he finds Mikey chained to the wall. Mikey's eyes are closed and it looks like he's praying.

“Mikey,” Gerard says, touching his face. Mikey's eyes open and he looks completely shocked. Gerard examines the chains. They are thick and have heavy locks on them. “Where's the key?”

“I'm supposed to die,” Mikey says. 

“Well, you're not going to,” Gerard says fiercely.

19.

They book passage and sail away toward Greece. 

They are not very far away when a storm blows up and the sea becomes rough. 

“It's Sha,” Mikey says, his voice weak next to the howling of the wind. “She wants me.”

“She can't have you,” Gerard says. “You can't have him!” he yells to the sky.

“Let me go,” Mikey says. “I can jump...”

Gerard shakes him and screams, “No!” He will tie Mikey down if he has to.

The winds die down slowly. Gerard and Mikey are shaken and they've both thrown up so many times their stomachs cramp, but they are alive. Sha has allowed them to live. To be free.

20.

For a week, Mikey is virtually silent. Gerard has no way of knowing what he's thinking or feeling. Eventually, though, when they reach Greece and leave the sea behind, Mikey comes back to him.

“I don't know what it is to be free,” he says. He tilts his head and squints into the sunlight.

Gerard wraps an arm around him and pulls him close. He doesn't understand completely; he was never raised to be a sacrifice. But he can offer his support and all of his love.

“Are you scared?” Gerard asks.

“Yeah,” Mikey says. “But I think I'm happy.”


End file.
